Precinct Captain Furillo tries to defuse a hostage situation despite the advice of his gung-ho Emergency Action Team leader and the temperament of a self-absorbed gang leader; public defender Joyce Davenport tries to find a client who has been lost in the bureaucratic maze; Detective LaRue gets a lapful of coffee; Sgt. Esterhaus confides to Fay about his teenage sweetheart; Officers Hill and Renko are shot in the line of duty.

Hector Ruiz takes hostages again, this time at a supermarket; LaRue and Washington try to connect the gun that shot Hill and Renko with addict Eddie Hoban; and Cynthia Chase uses the hostage scene to stir up the local merchants.

The Dekker Avenue Merchants Association continues helping the police; Eddie Hoban finds himself out in the cold; Hill, Renko and Belker all have personal problems; Furillo tries to help a confused Santini decide what to do; and LaRue asks Cynthia Chase along on a dull stakeout that suddenly heats up.

Hill wins $100,000 in the lottery; Deputy Chief Mahoney tries to ride herd on Furillo's precinct; mayoral candidate Benjamin Fisk moves into a crime-ridden housing project; Goldblume tries to help Hector Ruiz control the Diablos; and Coffey and Bates bust a couple of lady mud wrestlers.

LaRue and Washington salvage a man's severed arm; Joyce defends a frantic West Indian cabbie; Hector Ruiz takes one final hostage; and Hill alienates many of his friends with his new attitude.

Kiki tries to persuade Eldridge to change his story; Hill's behavior gets worse and worse as he blows all his money; Fisk returns to the housing project with tragic results; Coffey sulks when Bates scores higher on the sergeant's exam; and Daniels has to make peace between Furillo and Mahoney.